Report

Jumbos dispatch the Strikers

An unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 42 between wicketkeeper Wayne Murray and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson carried Eastern Province to the top of the Standard Bank Cup table, as they leap-frogged Easterns with their fifth victory in as many

21-Dec-2000

EP beat the Highveld Strikers by five wickets with five overs to spare in a match reduced to 42 overs a side by a rain-delayed start, after shooting the home side out for just 128 on a seaming Wanderers wicket that had Strikers' captain Clive Eksteen fuming a little afterwards.

In fact, the home side's total may have been considerably lower. They were reeling on 93 for eight and only the fact that three of the last four batsmen; Ottis Gibson (17), Eksteen himself (12) and last man in Walter Masimula (14) managed to get into double figures helped them beyond the century mark after EP captain Carl Bradfield had won the toss and put them in.

Paceman Garnett Kruger, who had performed superbly against the Sri Lankans when the tourists played a one-dayer against EP a week earlier in Port Elizabeth, rose to the occasion again, ripping through the Strikers batting to take five for 28, including an out-of-sorts Daryll Cullinan for a duck, bowled off the inside edge of his bat. Not surprisingly, Kruger was named man of the match.

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Deodhar Trophy final ends in pulsating tie

In a story book finish, the Deodhar Trophy final between South Zone and Central Zone ended in a pulsating tie at the KD Singh `Babu' stadium in Lucknow on Thursday

Partab Ramchand

21-Dec-2000

In a story book finish, the Deodhar Trophy final between South Zone and Central Zone ended in a pulsating tie at the KD Singh `Babu' stadium in Lucknow on Thursday. To Central Zone's total of 298 for eight in 50 overs, South Zone were all out for 298 off the last ball of their innings. Skippers Amay Khurasiya and Robin Singh jointly received the trophy.

After Central Zone posted their imposing total, South Zone, after a good start, seemed to have lost their way in the middle overs despite a gallant 91 by `Mr Consistent' VVS Laxman. And at 258 for nine after 46 overs, it seemed over for South Zone. But in an unbelievable finish, No 10 WD Balaji Rao and No 11 Venkatpathy Raju took South Zone closer to the target with a mixture of aggressive shots and quick singles. When they came together, 41 runs were required in four overs. But finally it boiled down to 11 off the last over and one off the last ball. But Raju patted the ball back to the bowler Md Kaif and was run out in going for the all important single.

At the start of the innings, South Zone needed virtually six runs an over and openers Arun Kumar and Amit Pathak gave their side an excellent start by putting on 51 runs off seven overs before the former was out to a splendid running catch by Kanwat at mid on for 21. The Karnataka batsman faced 25 balls and hit three of them to the fence. Off the last ball of the following over, Dodda Ganesh, promoted in the batting order, hit all over a dipping full toss from Shriwastava to be bowled for zero.

Laxman joined Pathak and the two steadied the innings during a third wicket association which lasted 7.4 overs and realised 46 runs. But at 98, Pathak who was batting well, was run out for 47. The Andhra opener compiled his runs off only 41 balls with the help of seven boundary hits.

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Bengal beat Orissa by eight wickets

The bowling exploits of Shib Sagar Singh continues as he helped Bengal beat Orissa by eight wickets at Baharampur Stadium, Baharampur in the Under-22 Tournament between Bengal and Orissa on Thursday

Santhosh S

21-Dec-2000

The bowling exploits of Shib Sagar Singh continues as he helped Bengal beat Orissa by eight wickets at Baharampur Stadium, Baharampur in the Under-22 Tournament between Bengal and Orissa on Thursday.

On Tuesday Bengal won the toss and asked Orissa to have a bat first. Orissa were 100/3 when Singh started to strike, picking up five wickets in a row to bowl them out for 140 in 55.4 overs. RR Das with 48 top-scored for Orissa as Singh returned with the figures of 14-4-32-5. Arindam Das who opened for Bengal made a superb 85, which included 13 fours guided Bengal to a 100 run lead. There were notable contributions from RR Nath (40) and D Chakrabarty (32) as Bengal were all out for 240 in 89.1 overs. Saurav Sehgal was impressive with the ball picking up 6/62 in 32 overs as three batsmen were run out in the innings. Orissa were helped along by a 86 runs fourth wicket partnership between Das and N Behera. Das who had excelled in the first innings came good in the second too, scoring 73 runs, hitting one six and seven boundaries. Behera made 36 that included 5 boundaries. S Mohanty played a little cameo of 36 low in the order smashing two sixes and three fours. Shib Sagar Singh picked up three more wickets for 47 runs. Orissa were bowled out for 196 in 90.3 overs leaving Bengal to make 97 to win. Bengal started badly losing two wickets with just 31 on the board but were guided past their target by Arindam Das and Ranabir Nath as they added 61 runs for the unbeaten third wicket partnership. Arindam Das was severe on the bowlers smashing three sixes and four boundaries as he reached his fifty in 48 balls to remain unbeaten on 51 at the close of play. Nath made 35 in 32 balls hitting a six and five boundaries. Bengal took all eight points to Orissa's none.

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It's time to plan for the future in real earnest

And that was the way the cookie crumbled

Shantha Rangaswamy

20-Dec-2000

And that was the way the cookie crumbled! The Indian resistance just fizzled out against New Zealand in the second semi-final of the CricInfo Women's World Cup when they were comprehensively beaten by a big margin of nine wickets. And it was not the margin of defeat but the manner in which it was engineered that gave the impression that India was totally outplayed in all departments of the game; just like Australia swept aside the South African challenge in the first semifinal in exactly the same fashion and the same margin.

The planning was made but it needed proper execution. The Indians, batting first on winning the toss, opened with Smitha Harikrishna and Purnima Rau, this being the first time ever they batted in tandem. They gave India a good start but things went awry with the exit of Smitha, brilliantly caught at square leg while trying to pull. The immediate loss of Kaul and Chopra, both for no scores, put the Indians on the back foot from which they could never extricate themselves. Kaul and Chopra were the two main run getters for India in the tournament and their dismissals dealt the team a severe blow.

The aftermath of this was that Purnima, sent to open the batting to clear the infielders and use the first 15 overs, played the sheet anchor role and her innings eventually was the only one of substance from the Indians. Anju Jain, the Indian captain, appeared to be the most compact of the Indian batsmen but just when it looked that a rescue act was on, she was run out. And with that receded India's chances of putting up a respectable total.

Purnima played an innings uncharacteristic of her and when it was essential for her to take the initiative and protect the tail-enders, she failed to do so. The innings revolved round her and she carried her bat through for a well-compiled 67 off 133 balls but it was not the best innings I have seen of her. India did not play out the stipulated 50 overs and crumbled in the 46th over with Purnima stranded without any partners.

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All is lost for WI

Adelaide-The renewed optimism was, after all, an illusion

Tony Cozier

19-Dec-2000

Adelaide-The renewed optimism was, after all, an illusion.

Prompted by the equality of the first three days, it rapidly disappeared in Adelaide's crystal clear sunshine yesterday as another batting meltdown led to the third successive loss for the series early on the final day.

After 35 minutes on the final day (Monday night Caribbean time), Australia had duly retained the Frank Worrell Trophy that has been theirs since 1995, a trophy highly regarded by past andpresent players.

The fact that the match actually entered the fifth day, and that Australia had to bat again for the first time in the three Tests and lost five wickets reaching their puny target of 130, was little consolation for what was the West Indies' 16th defeat in their last 18 overseas Tests. It is a numbing statistic.

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Australians make it a lucky thirteen

Normally the number thirteen is associated with bad luck in the Australian cricket vernacular, but today it took a new meaning as, after thirty-eight minutes of play, Australia wrapped up the Sir Frank Worrell series with a five wicket win here in

Lawrie Colliver

19-Dec-2000

Despite the loss of Justin Langer (48) following twenty minutes of play, Damien Martyn (34*) and Adam Gilchrist (10*) steered the ship home on another bright, sunny day.

To start proceedings on the fifth and final day, West Indies captain Jimmy Adams again put his faith in Mervyn Dillon (3/42), giving him the opening over of the day. He tested Martyn out and, from the fourth ball, got one to rise from a length, forcing the West Australian to parry the ball to backward square leg on the bounce. Dillon's excellent maiden acted as a great start the day and then it was the turn of the veteran Courtney Walsh (2/39) to run in from the other end.

Langer went to work immediately, cover driving his first ball for the day for three and, two balls later, Martyn squirted a couple quite safely through the gap between slip and gully. Five from the over and suddenly Australia needed just twenty-seven.

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The West Indian batsmen fail their team - again

Many people have suggested that this "was the best game for the West Indies." Somehow, I am not so sure

Colin Croft

19-Dec-2000

Many people have suggested that this "was the best game for the West Indies." Somehow, I am not so sure. While they certainly showed that they are capable of playing very good cricket, the West Indians also showed, especially the batsmen, that they could not stay the course when it really mattered.

I have always maintained that when a cricketer reaches the Test side, there is much less reliance on physical ability (even if it is of the special kind, of a Warne or a Lara), than the absolutely necessary mental agility; the means by which winners turn losing positions to triumphs. That has been the difference in the third Test. Australia, especially the batsmen, outlasted the West Indies mentally.

In my mind, the Test match was lost and won in the first innings. Here the West Indies did the right things initially: winning the toss and electing to bat on the wonderful Adelaide Oval pitch. Indeed, thanks to the hardy efforts of Lara in particular (that 182 was timed to perfection, the stroke-play and the acceleration perfect in every way), and to a lesser extent his captain, the somewhat rejuvenated Jimmy Adams, the West Indies were soon 269-3. They seemed to be motoring along with some renewed confidence. A score of at least 400, more like 450, should have been envisaged.

Then Adams went, late on Day one and the West Indies closed on 274-4. The bottom, literally and figuratively, then fell out from beneath the West Indies. While Lara pummelled away for his 182, and new boy Marlon Samuels did manage 35, the West Indies fell well short of their should-be total of 450. That 391 was certainly not enough. Worse, even though it was their best score to date on this tour, the West Indies knew that too.

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Lankans outclass young Natal team

Sri Lanka gained the second victory of their South African tour when they beat a KwaZulu-Natal XI by 57 runs at the Chatsworth Oval on Tuesday, but they may well have been left wondering exactly what had been achieved

Peter Robinson

19-Dec-2000

Exactly one week before the first Test match against South Africa the Sri Lankans found themselves playing a one-day game against a young and understrength Natal team. If that makes little sense, then think about an itinerary which goes: two one-day internationals, two Test matches, four one-day internationals, one Test.

It's fair to say, then Tuesday's match did very little for the tourists in terms of getting them ready for Kingsmead on Boxing Day. And it was, perhaps because of its pointlessness, a fairly desultory affair.

Sri Lanka's 266 for eight was built around Mahela Jayawardene's 85, an innings which lasted 88 and in which Jayawardene helped himself to seven fours and a six. There were contributions of 28 from Kumar Sangakkara and 23 from Russel Arnold, but the kick towards the end came from Chaminda Vaas who thumped out 52 off 41 balls, clubbing three sixes during the course of his innings.

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Khurasiya, Yadav sparkle as Central Zone make final

Openers Jai P Yadav and skipper Amay Khurasiya were in blistering form as they starred in Central Zone's astonishingly facile victory over West Zone in the Deodhar Trophy semifinal at Green Park in Kanpur on Tuesday

Partab Ramchand

19-Dec-2000

West Zone, with centuries by skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Jacob Martin, ran up a total of 270 for four wickets in 50 overs. But Central Zone made light of what looked to be a tough target, losing only two wickets and winning with as many as 9.2 overs to spare.

Opting to bat, West Zone made a disastrous start losing openers Connor Williams (5) and Wasim Jaffer (7) with only 16 runs on the board. While Williams was bowled by Sriwastava, Jaffer was run out. But then the two former India players Kanitkar and Martin took charge and hammered the bowlers during their third wicket partnership which added 184 runs off 30.3 overs. The left handed Kanitkar, who was the more aggressive of the two, was bowled by Jai Yadav for 122 for which he faced only 104 balls. The 26-year-old Maharashtra all rounder hit 15 fours and two sixes. After his departure, Martin went for the bowling and he and Robin Morris (16) added 42 runs off 8.3 overs for the fourth wicket. Martin, who reached his century in the last over of the innings, remained unbeaten with 102. The 28-year-old Baroda batsman, who has represented the country in eight ODI's, compiled his runs off 118 balls and hit ten of them to the ropes. Among the bowlers, only Shalabh Sriwastava (2 for 35 off nine overs) and Murali Kartik (none for 39 off ten overs) were able to control the run rate somewhat.

In the face of a stiff target, Jai Yadav and Khurasiya were far from overawed. The duo from Madhya Pradesh went for the bowling from the start and did pretty much what they liked with the seam attack of Siddiqui, Mhambrey and Saxena. By the time Khurasiya was out for a rollicking 86, the first wicket partnership had put on 158 runs off just 15.5 overs. The 28-year-old Khurasiya, who has represented the country in ten ODI's, scored his runs off just 51 balls and he hit 14 fours and two sixes. There was no respite for the beleaguered West Zone bowlers even after Khurasiya's departure for Yadav and Md Kaif then came together in a second wicket partnership that realised 83 runs off 15 overs. By the time Yadav was out at 241 in the 31st over, Central Zone were well on their way to an easy victory. The 26-yearold Yadav's 101 was compiled off only 84 balls and he hit 14 of them to the ropes. Kaif and Gagan Khoda applied the finishing touches with a leisurely unbeaten third wicket partnership of 33 runs off 9.4 overs as Central coasted to a remarkable victory. Kaif, who remained unbeaten with 51 off 90 balls hit three boundaries.

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Streak steers visitors home in tense tour opener

Consecutive boundaries to captain Heath Streak saw Zimbabwe squeak past Canterbury's 236 with three balls to spare, in a tense Jade Stadium finish

Steve Deane

19-Dec-2000

Consecutive boundaries to captain Heath Streak saw Zimbabwe squeak past Canterbury's 236 with three balls to spare, in a tense Jade Stadium finish.

Heading into the last over Zimbabwe required seven runs with four wickets in hand. A Guy Whittall single from the first ball of Warren Wisneski's over gave Streak the strike. Wisneski's next ball was too wide, allowing Streak to carve it over point to the boundary.